The Global Geoparks Program that started in the 1990s as an initiative to foster protection and sustainable use of the planet's geoheritage will be merged with the International Geoscience Programme (IGCP), a UNESCO initiative to promote research on geology, in the upcoming UNESCO General Conference in 2015. A new international initiative, the International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme (IGGP) will result out of this merger. In this session we will conduct an evaluation of the achievements of the existing Geoparks and IGCP programs and provide insight on the initiative of IGGP. The session will also feature discussion on the interrelationship between Earth Sciences and Society.